If you haven’t filed your taxes yet, you only have a couple more weeks! But with staffing shortages at the IRS, well…you should still file because you’re an upstanding citizen (*wink*). 😁👍
This year, there’s less nerds working American tax returns…a whopping 27% less, actually. 📉 What’s that got to do with the price of eggs? Probably nothing. What’s it got to do with your refund and other issues? Keep reading! 👀
Here’s Five Fast Facts on staffing issues at the IRS and what’s in it for you:
- 🤏 It’s Shrinkage - The IRS got a lot smaller in 2025. Its workforce dropped from 102,000 employees to about 74,000, with some departments hit especially hard. Direct File lost 88% of its staff and Online Services got a total chop job.
- 😵 Taking Hits - It wasn’t just one department taking the hit. The small business unit was cut by more than 37%, along with 21% reductions in taxpayer services and 25% in IT. Those areas support both taxpayers and the agency’s day-to-day operations.
- 💼 Seasons Greetings - Seasonal hiring also didn’t go as planned. After delays tied to the shutdown, one major IRS department had onboarded only 2% of its expected staff by December. With training taking up to 80 days, many new hires won’t make it in time for this filing season.
- 🗣️ REPRESENTATIVE! - Customer service is where many taxpayers will feel the biggest impact. The IRS only has about 66% of the staff it needs to handle calls and in-person help this season. Even then, many employees are limited to answering simple questions and directing people to other departments.
- ⏲️ Tick Tock - Your refund might be caught in traffic, stuck behind about 2 million other returns. The IRS backlog is still moving slowly, and the switch to faster electronic processing hasn’t fully kicked in. So yeah, it may take a minute.
🔥Bottom line: Hopefully, everyone gets their refunds quick and painless. We’ve got vacations to book and slot machines to cook! If you think IRS staffing issues have people playing the waiting game, you’re gonna love what’s going on with student loans. If you’ve been wondering about the status on that repayment plan, head here to read all about that backlog.
Did you file your taxes yet?
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